On Sunday, 177 new medical students donned white coats and stethoscopes for the first time, in a ceremonial start to their medical training that they shared with their families, professors and alumni.

This week, they begin their medical school careers with training in the leadership skills they’ll need throughout their professional lives.

That includes discovering their own leadership traits and tendencies with management and leadership guru Jeff DeGraff, who also teaches at the U-M Ross School of Business, as well as intensive visioning exercises with the ZingTrain team that harnesses the strategies used at the successful Zingerman’s family of business.

The 2014 incoming class will have leadership training woven into their entire medical school career – built upon their deep understanding of basic science and extensive clinical opportunities that make U-M one of the top medical schools in the country.

They arrive at the U-M medical campus during a time of change, including major renovations to make the Taubman Health Sciences Library building into a state-of-the-art hub for student learning, ongoing planning work to change the medical student curriculum, and increases in the number of patients covered under the Affordable Care Act.

They'll also learn to work in Accountable Care Organizations, health care environments that embrace new approaches to population-based care and utilize advanced health information technology.

“Entering medical training during this time in our nation’s history requires a commitment to innovating, adapting and leading throughout one’s career,” says Rajesh Mangrulkar, M.D., associate dean for medical student education at the U-M Medical School. “We believe that from day one, our school must enable these future leaders of medicine to acquire the skills they need to continue to transform health care.”

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Coat Ceremony!

The incoming students have all been paired with another student, and a U-M patient and his or her family, for the Family Centered Experience that will help them understand how illness affects individuals and their loved ones. They will also have many opportunities to care for the underserved, including those without insurance at the Student Run Free Clinic in Pinckney, Mich.

In addition to the white coats and stethoscopes, funded in part by members of the U-M Medical Center Alumni Society, each student also received a pin provided by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a public foundation dedicated to fostering humanism in medicine. The pin symbolizes a shared commitment to providing compassionate and competent patient care.

More facts about this year’s incoming class:

5,776 people applied for a spot in this year’s class – a 6.2 percent increase over last year. Only 578 made it to the interview stage.

More than 47 percent of the 177 students starting medical school at U-M this month come from Michigan, with the rest coming from 32 other states

48 of them attended U-M as undergraduates, with the rest graduating from 15 other Michigan institutions and 61 out-of-state institutions

53.1 percent are women, and 11.9 percent are members of groups underrepresented in medicine

Nearly 65% of incoming students have deep biological, natural or physical science backgrounds. However, over 1/3 of incoming students come from other diverse fields including engineering, business, economics, humanities, policy and the arts.

More than 80 percent received some form of financial aid, including 10 Dean’s Scholars who receive full tuition scholarships

10 students will pursue both an M.D. and Ph.D. degree through the Medical Scientist Training Program. Three who already hold dental degrees will train in oral and maxillofacial surgery, and many others may choose to pursue a second degree at other U-M schools and colleges while in medical school, through one of eight dual-degree programs for medical students.

The students range in age from 21 to 33, with the average at 24.3 years.

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